Story of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri in 2000.[1] The band was originally formed under the name Big Blue Monkey. They changed their name to Story of the Year in 2002 after the release of their EP titled Story of the Year on the indie label Criterion Records, after they realized a blues group of the name Big Blue Monkey had already existed.

History

Page Avenue (2002–2004)

After spending 7 years as a local band, recording demos and three EPs, Story of the Year signed a deal with Maverick Records in 2002, then recorded and released their first album, Page Avenue, in September 2003. The first single from that album was "Until The Day I Die." It first received radio airplay around July/August 2003 on stations like KROQ-FM and sold thousands of copies worldwide.[citation needed] The second single, "Anthem of Our Dying Day", featured a music video directed by Mr. Hahn of Linkin Park. Page Avenue has now sold over 900,000 copies in the U.S. and well over a million worldwide.[citation needed] The single "And the Hero Will Drown" was featured on the soundtrack for the multi-platform video game Need for Speed: Underground.[citation needed] "And the Hero Will Drown" was also featured on the video game Madden 2004.

In the Wake of Determination (2004–2006)

After the Page Avenue tour finally ended in late 2004, Story of the Year returned to the studio with producer Steve Evetts in 2005, to record their second studio album. In the Wake of Determination, released on October 11, 2005, is much heavier sounding than the previous album, due to switching producers to get their "true sound". As of March 2006, that album had only sold 150,698 units[3] and has failed to achieve the gold certification that the band's two previous releases had, per the RIAA website.[2] Although not as successful as its predecessor, the album debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200.

In the Wake of Determination included the first hint of the band members feelings on the subject of homosexuality in the song "'Is This My Fate?', He Asked Them", which includes the lines "Do you really think that it's a choice, a way of life" and "a bigot's eyes judging lives based on the sex of who you fuck".[4] While on tour, the band has stated that the inspiration came from Ryan Phillips' brother and how he was discriminated against just for living his life and being different.

The Black Swan (2007–2009)

Story of the Year returned to the scene in 2008 with their anticipated new release, The Black Swan. For the album, they brought back the Page Avenue producer John Feldmann and also they used producer Elvis Baskette. The first single off album was "Wake Up".

For the recording of The Black Swan, Story of the Year decided to ended their five year relationship with Maverick and signed with Epitaph Records.[5] The label noted that there would be exhaustive touring in support of their new record.

On February 20, 2008, Kevin Lyman announced on the Vans Warped Tour's official website that the band would be a headliner on the annual Vans Warped Tour 208 and will play at all Warped Tour shows. Additionally, they headed over to Europe, playing the Groezrock festival and some Give It A Name shows in Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. A tour of Australia followed.[citation needed]

Story of the Year released their DVD Our Time Is Now on May 13, 2008,[citation needed] followed by a stint on the 2008 Taste of Chaos International with Atreyu.[6]

The Constant side projects (2009–present)

May 2009, Story of the Year guitarist Ryan Phillips announced that the band had begun "working overtime writing" their next album, which is "shaping up to be fucking great".[7] The band recorded in Studio Barbarossa July and August.[citation needed] Lead singer Dan Marsala stated in a post-show meet & greet that the album would be released on February 16, 2010.

On December 31, the band released "I'm Alive" to radio airplay. The band also stated on their Twitter that "I'm Alive" will be released as an official single on January 5, 2010.

The Constant, was released on February 16, 2010 through Epitaph Records.[8] The Deluxe Edition, available on iTunes, has two bonus tracks, "Your Unsung Friend" and "Tonight We Fall."

On February 4, 2011, the band played a show at The Pageant, in their hometown of St Louis, MO, where they performed their first album, "Page Avenue", in its entirety, as well as other fan favorite songs. They posted that this was a thank you show to all their dedicated fans for 10 years together. City Spud, of the St Louis rap group St. Lunatics, made a guest appearance during the show.

In January 2011, Story of the Year recorded the song "Breed" for an upcoming Nirvana Tribute Album. The track was recorded in St. Louis, MO with producer Matt Amelung at Second Story Studio.

Controversies

Band brawl

MTV News reported on their website that during a radio show in May 2004, the band members of Story of the Year got into a fight with the roadies of metal band Godsmack.[18] Pictures of the band members' bruised faces were posted on their homepage as well as a blistering rant of the event. The members of Godsmack were not involved in the fight, but they were targeted by the rant as well. It went on to talk about being detained by the local police. There were no arrests from the incident, and the Noblesville Police Department had no record of anything having taken place. Story of the Year's account of the fight was removed and replaced with a note reading: "I took the Godsmack post down because we are going to ask them to go get some chocolate ice cream with us."